Brazil

I

Introduction

Brazil (in Portuguese, Brasil), officially Federative Republic of Brazil, federal republic, the largest country in South America, occupying nearly one half of the entire area of the continent. It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and the Atlantic Ocean; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by Uruguay; on the west by Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru; and on the north-west by Colombia. The republic has a common frontier with every country of South America except Chile and Ecuador. Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world (after Russia, China, Canada, and the United States). The total area of Brazil is 8,547,404 sq km (3,300,171 sq mi); its maximum north-south distance is about 4,345 km (2,700 mi), and its maximum east-west distance is about 4,330 km (2,690 mi). Most of the people of Brazil live near the Atlantic Ocean, notably in the great cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, but the capital is inland, at Brasília, which has a population of 2,282,049 (2004 estimate). The country, which was once a Portuguese dependency, is the world’s leading producer of coffee, and it also contains great mineral resources; exploitation of many of these resources intensified during the 1980s and 1990s.

II

Land and Resources

A vast region of highlands, known as the Brazilian highlands or Brazilian plateau, and the basin of the River Amazon are the dominant geographical features of Brazil. The plateau is an eroded tableland occupying most of the south-eastern half of the country. With a general elevation of about 305 to 915 m (1,000 to 3,000 ft), this tableland is irregularly divided by mountain ranges and numerous river valleys. Its south-eastern edge, which is generally parallel to the coast, rises abruptly from the ocean in various areas, particularly north of latitude 10° south and south of latitude 20° south. Among the principal ranges of the Brazilian plateau are the Serra da Mantiqueira, the Serra do Mar, and the Serra Geral. Elevations in these and the other ranges average under about 1,220 m (4,000 ft), but several of the ranges are surmounted by lofty peaks, including Pico da Bandeira (2,890 m/9,482 ft) in the Serra da Mantiqueira, and Pedra Açu (2,232 m/7,323 ft) in the Serra do Mar. Much of the tableland terrain consists of rolling prairies (campos), and extensive tracts are forested.

The basin of the River Amazon occupies more than one third of the surface of the country. Lowlands predominate in the Amazon Basin; elevations rarely exceed about 150 m (500 ft), and swamps and floodplains occupy vast areas of the region. Large parts of the basin are covered by tropical rainforests (selvas). Because of the impenetrability of this growth, huge areas of the Brazilian lowlands have only recently been explored. On the northern edge of the Amazon Basin is another mountainous area, part of the uplift known as the Guiana Highlands; ranges include the Tumucumaque Mountains, with elevations up to about 915 m (3,000 ft), the Acaraí Mountains (maximum elevation 460 m/1,500 ft), and the Parima Mountains (maximum elevation 1,525 m/5,000 ft). Neblina Peak (3,014 m/9,888 ft), at the border with Venezuela, is the highest point in Brazil.

The Brazilian coastline, with a total length of some 9,655 km (6,000 mi), has singularly regular contours, particularly in the north, but several deep indentations provide excellent natural harbours. Especially noteworthy are the harbours of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Recife. Excluding sections in which the Brazilian Plateau projects into the Atlantic Ocean, the coast is fringed by a narrow coastal plain.

A

Rivers

More than two thirds of Brazil is drained by the Amazon and Tocantins rivers, about one fifth by the River Plate (Río de la Plata) system, and the remainder by the São Francisco and other smaller rivers. The Amazon with its great branches—the Negro, Japurá, and Putumayo on the north and the Javari, Purus, Juruá, Madeira, Tapajós, and Xingu on the south—and the Tocantins, which is a tributary of the River Pará, the southern distributary of the Amazon, afford a system of internal navigation comparable only to that of the Mississippi River in the United States. The length of the Amazon from Iquitos in Peru to its mouth on the north-eastern coast of Brazil is about 3,700 km (2,300 mi), which is all navigable by ocean-going ships. The most important navigable waterways in the plateau region are the São Francisco and Parnaíba rivers. The former river is interrupted about 305 km (190 mi) above its mouth by the Paulo Afonso Falls, but its upper course is navigable for more than 1,450 km (900 mi). The São Francisco is also used for irrigation. The Parnaíba, which, like most of the rivers traversing the highlands contains falls and rapids, is navigable for about 645 km (400 mi)—less than half its length. Rapids also impede navigation in the River Uruguay. One of the chief rivers of the La Plata system, it flows through Brazilian territory for more than 965 km (600 mi) and forms most of the Brazilian-Argentine border. The other great La Plata river systems flowing through Brazil are the Paraguai and the Alto Paraná rivers, which are both important inland waterways.

B

Climate

Climatic conditions in Brazil range from tropical to subtemperate. The average January and July temperatures in Brasília are 22° C (72° F) and 20° C (68° F) respectively. The averages in Rio de Janeiro for the same months are 29° C (83° F) and 20° C (67° F). Average annual precipitation in Brasília is 1,600 mm (63 in), and in Rio de Janeiro it is 1,760 mm (67 in). Tropical conditions prevail also over most of that portion of the coastal plain lying to the north of the tropic of Capricorn, but oceanic winds have a moderating effect on the high temperatures and humidity. The annual rainfall in this part of the coastal belt varies between 1,041 and 2,286 m (41 and 90 in). In the coastal region south of the tropic of Capricorn, climatic conditions are marked by sharp seasonal variations. Winter temperatures as low as -5.6° C (22° F) are occasionally recorded in the extreme south, and frosts are common throughout the region. Precipitation averages less than 1,016 mm (40 in) annually in the southern part of the coastal belt. In the east-central Brazilian uplands the climate is subtropical but, because of the higher altitudes, sharp variations of temperature occur in the day and the nights are cool. This region is frequently subject to severe droughts. In the highlands to the south and west, precipitation ranges from adequate to abundant. Temperatures vary between subtropical and temperate in the south-eastern highlands, which is the most densely populated section of the country.